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From its founding in 1887 by Father Joseph Cataldo, S.J., as a frontier boarding school for boys, Gonzaga University established its unique identity. Named for the Jesuit Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, the patron of youth, the twenty students in the first class lived a Spartan existence along the north shore of the Spokane River. The students' annual highlight after seven months of confinement and dawn-to-dusk regimentation was a picnic on a field seven miles down the road where the sound of rattlesnakes on the perimeter was muted by the gentle banter of teachers on horseback.
Gonzaga has changed a great deal since 1887 as the University has expanded from a single building along the banks of the Spokane River, to its modern Ralph and Helen Foley Center, which opened its doors in the fall of 1992, as one of the largest centers for information and technology in the Pacific Northwest.
Situated on 94 acres of landscaped campus located in a residential section of Spokane, Gonzaga is well within walking distance of the downtown shopping area. Since its founding in 1887 upon urging from Spokane’s city leaders who sought a major university in their town, the City of Spokane and the Gonzaga community have had a unique relationship. That close relationship was evidenced by the fact that former GU Chancellor Bernard J. Coughlin, S.J., was the first priest chairman of a chamber of commerce when he earned that distinction in Spokane in the late 1980’s.
The Gonzaga campus continues to grow and change with the times. Opening in the summer of 2000, Gonzaga’s School of Law Building becomes the newest addition to the growing urban campus. A new Rosauers School of Education building was completed in the spring of 1994, and a new Jundt Art Center and Museum was opened in the fall of 1995. Other campus additions in recent years are the Herak Center which houses the School of Engineering and the Jepson Center which has the School of Business Administration as its tenant. The former Crosby Library was transformed into a new Student Union Building.
Along with a growing campus, a growing student body and faculty have come to call Gonzaga home. Enrollment has swelled from a class of 20 that first year to approximately 4,500 men and women; while faculty and staff has risen to over 650. The University now offers seven degrees in 92 fields of study, master degree programs in 23 fields, one Ph.D. in educational leadership and a Juris Doctor through the School of Law. Gonzaga takes great pride in its Jesuit educational heritage and in its strong athletic traditions which are nearly as old as the University.
The Start of Jesuit Education
Founded in 1540 by Basque nobleman Ignatius of Loyola, the Society of Jesuits is an order of Catholic priests and brothers, who with their lay colleagues, carry on a 450-year tradition of eduction excellence.
While recovering from a battle wound, Ignatius’ life was changed by reading the Bible and studying the lives of the saints. His religious experiences led him to renounce the life of courtier and soldier to serve God. That inspired him to write the Spiritual Exercises, a work that would become the basis of Jesuit spirituality and mission. After studying at the University of Paris for seven years, he founded a school based on his scholarship.
At the time of Ignatius’ death in 1556, Jesuits ran 33 colleges and universities worldwide. Georgetown University, founded in 1789, became the first American Jesuit university. There are now 112 Jesuit colleges and universities in the world, including 33 in the United States.
Gonzaga University is named for Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, a 16th century priest. In his effort to comfort the ill in Rome during the plague, he caught the scourge and died a young man. He is named the Patron Saint of Youth.
History of Gonzaga Athletics
Athletic tradition at Gonzaga University is almost as old as the University itself, ranging from the football hey days at the early part of the century to the Bulldogs latest foray into the NCAA Elite Eight. As the University has grown from a single building along the banks of the Spokane River in 1887 into a major urban campus, so to has the Gonzaga athletic program grown. Gonzaga now competes in 14 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level and is a proud member of the West Coast Conference.
In the early part of the century, football was the game at Gonzaga as future NFL Hall-of-Famers Ray Flaherty and Tony Canadeo joined with numerous others to put Bulldog athletics on the map. As Gonzaga slowly dropped football as an intercollegiate sport, hockey came to the forefront as Gonzaga won the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Hockey Championship in 1939.
During the 1940’s and 1950’s men’s basketball and boxing became the feature sports at Gonzaga as the Bulldogs basketball team reached the 1948 NAIA National Tournament played in Kansas City. Two years later Gonzaga won its only NCAA National Championship to date as the Bulldog boxing team won the 1950 NCAA Championship.
Men’s basketball remained in the spotlight through the late 1950’s as Gonzaga’s all-time leading rebounder Jerry Vermillion and all-time leading scorer Frank Burgess graced the hardwood for the Zags.
Through the 1970’s and early 1980’s Gonzaga baseball came to dominate play in the Pacific Northwest. The Bulldogs won eight conference titles over a ten year span from 1971-1981. That ten year run witnessed seven post-season appearances for Gonzaga, highlighted by a NCAA West Regional appearance in 1978.
Women’s athletics had some of its most successful years as the 1990’s started with both the volleyball and basketball teams making post-season appearances. Behind All-Americans Lisa Petticord and Kelley Cunningham, the Volleyball Bulldogs made their only NCAA Tournament appearance in 1990. In 1994 the women’s basketball team grabbed the spotlight making their only post-season tournament with a bid to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament in Amarillo, Texas. In recent years women’s crew has become a dominant sport with the team winning five-straight WCC Rowing Championships.
Most recently, Gonzaga has been vaulted on the national scene based on the success of its men’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament. In 1999, the Bulldogs captured the hearts of the nation with their incredible run to the Elite Eight and followed up that success with Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2000 and 2001.
In addition to stand-out athletic teams through the years, Gonzaga has also been home to many stand-out individual athletes such as the NBA’s all-time assist leader - John Stockton; U.S. Olympic Rowing team member - Monica Tranel-Michini; former two-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Golf Champion - Connie Oldershaw Guthrie; and Stanley Cup winning goal-keeper and 1945 Calder Cup recipient for the Toronto Maple Leafs - Frank McCool.
